Acclaimed singer, songwriter and vocalist Alicia Olatuja will be taking the stage at the Wallace Theater on Feb. 12-13.
Olatuja, a mezzo-soprano, is known for her blend of jazz, Afrobeat and gospel influences.
Originally a vet major, she decided to pursue a degree in music at the University of Missouri, and later her master at the Manhattan School of Music.
In 2013, Olatuja performed the “Battle Hymn of the Republic with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir for Pres. Barack Obama’s second inauguration, with only 10 days to prepare. She has also performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 2017 and tours extensively, performs vocal arranging as well as singing. She operates the online Vocal Breakthrough Academy.
Albums she has released during her career include “The Promise” as the Olatuja Project, with her Nigerianborn husband Michael Olatuja, a successful jazz bassist. She sang some Nigerian lyrics, including in the Yoruba language. Later she would release a single, “The Dark” and included it in her album “Timeless. In 2019, she released “Intuition: Songs from the Minds of Women.”
Olatuja was born in Washington and moved to Oregon before settling in St. Louis with her family at 5 years old. Growing up, she began developing her voice in church and found inspiration from Whitney Houston and was supported by her grandmother who was a head elder their church as well as her mother who also had a singing voice.